6. Marvels/Astro City
This one's a tie but I'll start will Marvels because Marvels is the book that introduced me to Alex Ross. I don't have to say anything more to justify its inclusion on this list, but I will anyway. I remember seeing cover images of The Human Torch or Angel thinking "this is what comics should look like". Ross' photorealistic style works perfectly for a story like this. The fear and wonder of realizing you live in a world full of supermen is all right there on the page, and Kurt Busiek lovingly crafts a re-imagined Silver Age for the Marvel Universe that is both respectful of the original material and modern as all get-out. I read a lot of X-Men comics as a kid and I always thought the people of the Silver Age would have been terrified of human torches and submariners at first. Busiek addresses this and more in a book that still seems fresh 20 years later. That brings us to Astro City. Another example of a great story that captures the halcyon days of superhero comics, Astro City does it without the benefit of us being familiar with it's characters. The trick here is Busiek's ability to take character types and gimmicks we'd seen before and infuse them with uniqueness throught their flaws or motivations. I always thought The Samaritan was a better superman than Superman; his story just moves me more. Ross' covers didn't hurt, either. When Astro City returns this summer, I'll be one of many standing in line for it.